The hopeless romance of...The Crow? Pure's Ryan Robbins on the film that changed his life

The 1994 film The Crow is full of violence, darkness, revenge — and, in the opinion of Pure star Ryan Robbins, romance. Which is why, as a self-proclaimed "hopeless romantic," the film struck a chord with the actor.

The Crow is based on James O'Barr's graphic novel and tells the story of Eric Draven, played by the late Brandon Lee. Draven is resurrected by a crow to seek revenge on the gang who murdered him and his fiancée. It was the sincerity in Lee's performance that moved Robbins as a fellow actor. "It always comes back to sincerity to me," he says. "There was truth in Brandon Lee's portrayal of love lost."

You feel that he certainly understood love and loss and wanting closure and wanting redemption of some sort. I'm a hopeless romantic so that's, I think, what spoke to me.- Ryan Robbins

In the above video, Robbins reflects on the lasting impact that The Crow had on him.

Watch Ryan Robbins as Noah Funk, a Mennonite pastor forced to join his colony's cocaine-smuggling ring, on the drama series Pure Mondays at 9pm (9:30 NT) on CBC.

Watch Exhibitionists Sundays at 4:30pm (5 NT) on CBC.